


All Hallows Eevee: The Aftermath

by Bihotz



Series: Pokemon: Boiseko Battle Etxea [16]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions
Genre: Academia, Halloween Costumes, Houen-chichou | Hoenn, Idaho, M/M, NaNoWriMo, NaNoWriMo 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-28 08:59:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12603012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bihotz/pseuds/Bihotz
Summary: (NaNoWriMo 2017)Ch 4: Steven and Wallace were embracing each other in the pool. Suddenly, the Rocket Grunts show up.





	1. Chapter 1

Steven Stone gritted his teeth as his alarm clock blared. It was the day after Halloween, and at Syringa State University, that meant that the weeklong university Fall Break was over. Steven, of course, like the other faculty and administrators, didn’t get a break. Instead, he had been attending various professional development sessions - which were, of course, of various levels of effectiveness.

“Hey, Steven, wake up,” said his husband, Wallace Stone. Wallace untangled himself from his husband’s grasp as well as from the steel-colored bedsheets. “It’s November 1, and we’ve got to go to work.”

Steven sighed, stretched out his chest - which Wallace found was very cute - and then rubbed his eyes. The ragweed pollen in Boise had proven to be unbearable for Steven this semester, and he was certain that his eyes were red from the exposure. After realizing that fighting against his allergies was futile, Steven attempted to go back to sleep.

That was when Wallace yanked off the comforter and the sheets from their bed.

\-----0-0-0-----

An hour later, Steven was in his office. There was lots of talk regarding all sorts of Halloween stories, but Steven really needed to get some work done. He left his door ajar, as if signalling that he was only to be bothered for serious inquiries, and went back to reading his reports. 

<< Oh great,>> thought Steven. << There are ten more emails about installing the new university app. How hard can it be? Just follow the directions, which literally takes five minutes at most and can be done by a ten-year-old. >>

<< Heh, >> responded Carlo the Metagross though a Psychic Whisper. The Psychic Whisper was a way for Carlo and Steven to communicate without verbally talking. Because Steven and Carlo shared an extremely strong Pokemon-Trainer bond, Steven was able to open up his mind to be read by Carlo, who in turn could respond by planting whispers in his trainer’s head through the Psychic Whisper technique. << You’d think they’d figure this out by now. But no, they’re going to have to panic because that’s what happens every time the IT department decides to use a new mandatory program. >>

<< I would feel sympathetic for Chloe if she hadn’t been such a jerk to me for no reason, >> responded Steven. One of his major pet peeves was insecure people who projected their insecurities onto him; Chloe definitely fell in that category. 

<< Ignore that twerp, >> responded Carlo. << She brought that on herself. She can deal with it herself. And - Steven? Steven? I’m feeling frustration building up in your mind. Are you still mad about the Halloween party yesterday? >>


	2. Chapter 2

Steven had discussed the matter with Wallace, but he knew that he could not make comments about it in public. In fact, he already knew what the public would say. “It was just a costume.” “Get over it. It’s Halloween.” “Lighten up, it’s a joke.”

He knew what the others would say because Rumor, the little birdie, had already made her rounds around campus, even this early in the morning. As much as Steven tried to stay out of the gossip grapevine - he always had way too much to do to pay attention to such frivolous things - he couldn’t help, at least today, being drawn towards the fire. Already, employees all over campus were discussing the winning couple’s entry of the Boiseko Battle Etxea and Pokemon Center’s first ever Costume Contest.

May and Brendan Birch easily won the approval of the crowd with the depiction of Steven himself as well as The Handler, an individual who, at least before his death, was famous for managing the careers of many successful Pokemon Coordinators such as Wallace and Lisia Stone. May, who played Steven, wore an outfit made out of cheap Halloween costume fabric. Apparently, it was supposed to resemble Steven’s Sootopolitan Archon regalia, but Steven thought it was a poor imitation. May also wore a spiky blue-gray wig (which was, at least in Steven’s opinion, the only decent part of the entire costume), and carried an oversized cardboard fountain pen with blood-red ink. Brendan, who was portraying the Handler, wore an imitation business suit drenched in fake blood. On his eye, Brendan wore a black eyepatch.

How May’s and Brendan’s outfits were supposed to be an excellent Halloween costume worthy of being printed in the Battle Etxea’s promotional materials escaped Steven’s mind. By the time the pictures were posted on Facebook, hundreds of people have already seen the images. Most of them gave positive ratings, which surprised Steven.

Wallace, however, had a distinctly different reaction to the winning entry of the costume contest. As the contestants were displaying their costumes, Steven and Wallace had been holding hands in a booth in the back of the room. After May and Brendan trotted out in their outfits, Steven felt a hard squeeze on his hand.

“Is everything okay?” whispered Steven.

“No,” replied Wallace. His voice was weak and uncertain. “I think - I think I have to step out for a moment and get some fresh air.”

“I’ll come with you,” offered Steven as both of them quietly headed outside for a well-deserved breather.


	3. Chapter 3

“I know you’re upset about the whole situation yesterday,” said Norman Takahashi Ariztegi, the Pokemon Studies Department Chair, the moment he walked into Steven’s office. Norman always thought Steven’s office was just strange; in Sootopolis, standing desks are the norm, and Steven used his rather comfy chair to hold a sleeping baby Eevee along with the mother, an Umbreon. “But you can’t get mad about things like this. It’s a costume based on a historical event. It happened, whether you liked it or not. And, of course, it was just for fun. It’s Halloween. And even though I know you aren’t a fan of Halloween, you can’t ban people from having fun.”

Steven sighed. Yes, Norman was his best friend, but sometimes best friends had their differences. This was one of these times. “Look, I know your daughter and your son-in-law meant well. And honestly, if this was a private party, I wouldn’t have cared what they wore; they can be as rude as they want in their own house. But for a Interregional Pokemon Association sponsored event, this was a disgrace. In addition, the daughter of the Idaho Region’s Head Pokemon professor and the son of the Hoenn Region’s Head Pokemon professor should know better than to portray an event such as this as a comedy.”

“Well, this happened a few years ago,” countered Norman. “It’s not like it’s in recent memory.”

“Yes, it may happen years ago, but it still has a large impact on today,” responded Steven. “It ended Wallace’s as well as our daughter Lisia’s Pokemon Coordinator careers. It caused the Pokemon Coordinator industry to descend into temporary turmoil, and even though the chaos was fixed rather quickly, the new changes have had major effect in the Pokemon Coordinator world. Also, even today, people still send me angry emails about their own personal opinions on this incident. So yes, even if the event happened a few years ago, it is still very relevant now.”

“Maybe we can agree to disagree,” offered Norman. Sootopolitans can be very stubborn, and Norman recognized that no matter what he said, he wasn’t going to change Steven’s mind.


	4. Chapter 4

It was finally the weekend, and Steven decided that he wanted to enjoy the company of his husband without thinking about work. Yesterday, Wallace dyed Steven’s hair teal, and both of them covertly entered Sootopolis under the cover of the night. As much as it felt strange to have to sneak into one’s hometown, both Steven and Wallace knew that the black-clad Rocket Grunts were guarding the usual entrances to Sootopolis.

Today, Steven and Wallace were chilling out at one of the heated pools at the Sootopolis Gym. Wallace especially loved the experience; Boise was way too cold for him during this time of the year, and he hated wearing those bulky winter clothes. Here in Sootopolis, Wallace was able to wear his white Archon regalia - which was lightweight, water resistant, and elegant - without having to cover it with thick layers of clothing.

Wallace smiled as he felt his husband gently pull on his torso until Wallace’s back was touching Steven’s chest. Then, Steven lovingly wrapped his arms around Wallace’s waist, leaned into Wallace’s shoulder, and just held Wallace. Although Wallace was taller than Steven, Wallace felt safest when his husband was holding him, and being in the water just added to the entire experience. For what seemed like an hours - in a good way - Steven and Wallace muttered soothing, romantic Sootopolitan phrases to each other.

That ended when Wallace spotted a rock flying in their general direction. Before Steven could react, Wallace broke out from Steven’s embrace and dunked both his and Steven’s heads in the water in an attempt to avoid the projectile. After the rock landed harmlessly on the other side of the pool, Wallace pulled his and Steven’s heads out of the water.

“I knew it! They’re gay!” screamed a young woman through the bandanna covering her mouth. Save for the large R in front of her shirt, her hands, and the top half of her face, she was covered in black clothing. Wallace instantly knew that she was a Team Rocket Grunt. And she wasn’t alone. Behind her was a horde of similarly-dressed Grunts, each with a rock in their hand.


End file.
